Victory Brands opens new coffee shop and more Atlanta dining news from the week

Victory Brands has rebranded DeKalb Athletic Club as Victory Coffee & Calamity, a new coffee shop that opened May 20. Victory Coffee carries over many of the ideas behind DAC, including its coffee program and grab-and-go “gas station” biscuits. It also adds some menu items from Victory Sandwich Bar, including the rotating hummus and pimento jar, a snack of pimento cheese and bacon jam.

“We love that creative side of the business,” said Victory Brands co-owner Ian Jones, detailing the reasons behind the coffee shop brand switch. “But we got a little far away from what we’re known for.” Besides changing the name to Victory Coffee, Jones said that he hopes the new shop will attract families and kids who can get to know the Victory name without ordering a Jack and coke slushie.

Victory Coffee is the first of the Victory Brands restaurants to reopen after the restaurant group closed all of its locations due to concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. According to Jones, the group’s other restaurants will open in phases as they are individually updated and adapted to accommodate guests as worries about COVID-19 persist. Victory Coffee will help get its neighboring sister restaurant, Lloyd’s, up and running, serving as a pick-up location for the latter restaurant’s “fast-food style” takeout. “We have a lot of space at Victory Coffee,” said Jones. “We have two huge garage doors to help with airflow and a big parking lot where people can do pick-ups.” The takeout menu from Lloyd’s, which should be available in the next two weeks, will be mostly sandwiches, including a burger and fried chicken sandwich, “served in paper bags with little sleeves for the fries,” said Jones, explaining how the restaurant would avoid serving soggy fries. “We won’t be doing clam shells,” he said.

An espresso drink from Victory Coffee. COURTESY OF VICTORY BRANDS

Throughout June, additional Victory Brands restaurants will open one at a time, including Victory Sandwich Bar, Lloyd’s and Little Trouble. Changes are being made at each location to ensure the comfort and safety of guests as the coronavirus lingers.

“We're remodeling all of our restrooms to be mostly hands-free, installing some public handwashing stations, and going outdoors as much as possible,” said Jones. “This takes some time, but we feel that it is worth it in the long run to inspire consumer confidence.”

Jones said he had grabbed takeout from a couple restaurants that he declined to name and that he felt concerned about their safety procedures. The experience convinced him that investing in extra safety precautions would pay off in the long run. “We just can't allow that sort of doubt to manifest at our stores,” he said. “I'd rather take the time now, get screwed one more month, and get it right.”

Never Enough Thyme will open a new location at Halcyon in Alpharetta. The restaurant will serve the same menu as the original location in Alpharetta City Center, including sandwiches, salads and quiches. Visitors to the Halcyon location will encounter a “Thyme To-Go” pickup window for wine, beer, frozen drinks, draft cocktails and nitro coffee. There will also be “Thyme To-Go” cases stocked with grab-and-go items like desserts, takeout dinners and a rotating selection of customer favorites. Learn more at neverenoughthyme.net.

Atlanta-based Big Green Egg is taking its well-regarded educational series online with the Big Green Egg Grilling Show. The streaming cooking show, developed and produced at the Big Green Egg Culinary Center in northeast Atlanta, will premiere this evening at 5 p.m. The show will be hosted by Big Green Egg culinary events manager Liz Burrell and feature frequent guest chef appearances. The show will air live online each Friday at 5 p.m. and will include recipes, grilling tips and Big Green Egg-specific tricks. Each episode will be available to watch any time after its air date on the company’s website, along with a downloadable recipe for viewers who want to follow along at home. Learn more and watch the show at biggreenegg.com/culinary-center/.

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms extended an administrative order this week that permits restaurants to continue to sell alcohol for off-premise consumption through June 30. The order, which had been in effect since March 20, was set to expire May 19. Read more here.

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